Electric heater



E Feb. 10, 1925. 1,525,744

1 A. JOHNSON A ELECTRIC HEATER MIMI Feb, lo. 1925.

AA. JOHNSON ELECTRIC HEATER Filed Nov. 19. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,17;7'9, 3.

Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

P-*AfT EN T O FFI CE'.

AXELy JOHNSON, 0F OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA;

ELECTRIC HEATER.

Application ledNovrember 19, 1923. Serial No. 675,451.

To all whom it mag/concerne.:

Be it known; that I, AXEL JOHNSON, a citizen ,of the United States, residingwat Oakland,vin the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Heaters, of which the followingis a specification.v

Electric heaters heretofore inaimfactured have usually been either of the radiation type or of the air circulation type,l and the present invention relates to an electric heater of the rconventional steam radiator unit form, and which is adapted to heat both by radiation and air circulation` Among its objects, the principal fea-ture of this invention is theprovision in a radiator channel of means for causinga circulation of air within a given path, and the en'- trance of lthe air and its exit from the unit being at a point near the base ofthe unit consequently adjacent to the floor of the roo-1n. Another object is to provide'an electric heater constructed-of.duplicate units enabling any munber of unitsi to be employed to construct a heater of lthe vdesired capacity; to provide in a heater of the air circulation type a resistance heatingfunit, the construction of which causes a circula` tion of air within the heater in a predetermined fiXed path.

lVith the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illust-rated in the accompanying drawings, anvdrsetforth inthe claims hereto appended, it'being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction witliin the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacriticing any `of the advantages of the invention. A

To more fully comprehend thev invention reference is directed to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a view in elevation partly in section of the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrating the co-operating radiator units `forming the completed structure.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l illustrating one of the resistance units.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view in bottom plan illustrating particularly the busbar connections be tween the resistance heatingunits, and Fig. 5 is a view in detailed side elevation of one of the resistance units removed from the heater.

Referring more particularly to the several views of the drawings wherein lili-e characters of reference designate corresponding parts, 1 indicates a structure of the conventional well known steam or hot water radiator. This radiator is, as illustrated, built up of a plurality of independA ent units each `including a hollow base Q upwardly from which extend the tubular channels 3 of any desired number, it having been found that at least two channels are essential, one for an upward circulation and another for a downward circulation. At their upper ends, the channels 3 coinmunicate with the common 'chamber el. ln the base of each unit there'is transversely; disposed across the chamber 2, at a point below the lower ends of the respective channels 3, a nested support or core 5 having wound thereon an electrical resistance, the windings 6 at a. point belowv the lower ends of the channels A being closertogether than the windings 7 located at a point below the lower ends of the channels B. From the terminal ends of the windings extend the busbars 8 for conveying` electrical energyv to the resistance. It has been discover'edftlnit by locating a resistance common to the lower ends of all of the channels 3, and making thisr resistance greater at a'point below the ends of certain of the channels than iti is at a point below the remainder of the channels, that an air circulation within a fixed path is maintained througn the channels. In the present instance, the upward movement of the air is in the channels A and the downward movement is in thev channels B, the air before leaving the radiator being further heated by the resistance unit provided witlrthe windings 'l'. y The air in its passage vvthrough `the channels A and B heats the walls of said channels and in this manner heat is radiated from the walls of each channel, and on the air discharging from the channels B it passes into the enclosure to be heated from a point beneath the lowered edge of the chamber 2.

Each unit is a duplicate of the otherl` and the material forming the walls of the cham` ber 2 is at its opposite ends, in one instance, provided with an outwardly extending flange 9, and at its opposite end with a corlOO responding undercut recess 10, the flanged recess affording interfitting seat portions fo-r receiving correspondingly formed end walls of an adjacent chamber. The upper end of the unit is provided at its opposite sides with the flanged openings l1 formed with similar iianged and under-cut portions as are the flanged under-cut po-rtions 9 and 10 associated with the base of each unit. Current is supplied to the resistance units through a circuit formed bythe lead wires l2, and in one of which wires is mounted a switch 13 controlled by a thermostat 14 of any well known type, the thermostat adapted fmr setting to make and break the electrical contact to maintain the radiator at the desired temperature. Y

l/Vith a construction of the present'type, it will be apparent that a radiator of any number of units desired maybe built up, and that a cheap and efficient form of heating resistance is employed arranged in such a manner as to insure a circulation Vof air within the channels of the radiator.

Having thus described my invention7 what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is l. vA heater of the circulation and radiation type including a chambered base, a pair of vertically disposed channels rising therefrom and connected at their upper ends and at their lower ends communicating through said chamber, said chamber opening to the atmosphere at a point below` the point of connection aiforded by itfor the lower end of the channels, an electric resista-nce withinthe base of the heater and disposed transversely thereof across the Vloweren-ds of said channels at a point above Vthe pointV of communication of the chamber with the atmosphere, said resistance at arpolnt below one of said channels being greater than below the other of said chansaid passages.

3. A heater including a unit provided with a plurality of vertically disposed air circuat their upper ends, and opening at theirl lower ends within the base of said member, an electric heating element at the lower end of said passages, said element being of different heating capacities at the ends ofl the respective passages;

5. A heater of the air circulation and radiation type including an upstanding member provided with a pair of vertically disposed vair circulation passages connected at their upper ends, and opening at their lower ends within the base of said member,

' van electric resistance unit carried by said member and common to the lower end of each passage, the resistance of said unit be` ing greater at the lower end of one passage than at the lower end of the other.

6. A heater Vof the air circulation and radiation type including a plurality ofV duplicate interconnected radiator sections; each including a vertically disposed member provided with a chamber at each end, and connected bya plurality of parallel spaced air circulating passages, the lower chamber opening to the atmosphere and the respec tive upper and lower chambers of eachy member communicating, an independent electric heating element in the lower chamber of each member and each element being disposed below the lower open end of the respec-tive passages in said member, andthe respective elements at a. point below corresponding ends of adjacent channels being of a dillerent resistance, and busbars detachably uniting the heating elements of adja cent members.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

AXEL JOHNSON. 

